Champions City 's boss Manuel Pellegrini said: “I’m disappointed because we had so many chances but I trust this group of players.

"Am I concerned about Chelsea [who can now go eight points clear of City by beating Manchester United on Sunday]? No. I am only concerned about my team. As for pressure, the pressure on me is exactly the same as it always was.”

Allardyce rated the win above the victory achieved in the 3-1 win over Liverpool recently.

“This was a team with two of the most strikers in Europe in Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko and I thought we handled them well, “ he said. “It was a little better than the win over Liverpool.”

Of man of the match Alex Song, he said: ”His experience was very important. At Bolton, I had people like Fernando Hierro and Jay-Jay Okocha and he goes alongside them.”